Container holder

ABSTRACT

A container holder includes: a case having a support opening and a pair of attachment walls arranged on both side portions of the support opening; a support member; and a spring member. Each attachment wall has a spring attachment portion protruding in a direction being away from the support opening, an upper stopper groove being located at a level higher than that of the spring attachment portion, and a lower stopper groove being located at a level lower than that of the spring attachment portion. The support member has an upper stopper protrusion detachably latched in the upper stopper groove, and a lower stopper protrusion detachably latched in the lower stopper groove. The spring member formed of a double torsion spring is pivotally supported by the spring attachment portion, and the support member is held between the attachment wall and the spring member.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

The present invention relates to a container holder for holding a container.

2. Related Art

There are beverage containers of various shapes, such as a large-diameter container and a small-diameter container. Examples of the large-diameter container include a plastic-bottle type container, a large-diameter paper cup, and the like. Examples of the small-diameter container include a can-type container, a small-diameter paper cup, and the like.

A commonly-used container holder has a case with a receiving space. The receiving space is generally defined by a side wall of the case, and can receive a container. The side surface of the container received in the receiving space is supported by the side wall of the case. Incidentally, when a small-diameter container is received in a large receiving space adapted to receive a large-diameter container, since the side wall of the case is largely spaced apart from the container, the container is difficult to be held stably. For this reason, in recent years, a technique in which the container holder has a support member configured to support the side surface of a small-diameter container has been proposed (for example, see JP 2006-205827 A).

An example of the support member includes a support member which can be changed in position with respect to the case. More specifically, the side wall of the case is provided with a support opening in the form of a through hole. The support member is pivotally supported by the case such that the support member can be inserted into or removed from the receiving space through the support opening. Furthermore, the support member is urged with a urging member such as a coil spring in a direction such that the support member protrudes into the receiving space. The support member, which is pivotally supported by the case and urged with the urging member, pivots with respect to the case to protrude into the receiving space. The support member is brought into press contact with the side surface of the container in the receiving space to support the container. For this reason, according to a container holder of this type, a small-diameter container can be stably held. Hereinafter, as needed, a direction orthogonal to a vertical direction of the container holder is called a width direction of the container holder.

According to a container holder device introduced by JP 2006-205827 A, since the support member is pivotally supported by the case to pivot, the support member disadvantageously has a relatively low degree of freedom of movement. When the degree of freedom of movement of the support member is low, the container holder is difficult to stably support containers having various shapes. Thus, a container holder in which a support member has an improved degree of freedom of movement is desired.

SUMMARY

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances and an object thereof is to provide a container holder in which a support member has an improved degree of freedom of movement.

A container holder of the present invention for solving the problem described above includes:

a case having a receiving space opened upward, a side wall defining at least a part of the receiving space, and a support opening formed on the side wall;

a support member configured to change a state thereof between a developed position where the support member is partially exposed to the receiving space through the support opening, and a retracted position in which an amount of exposure of the support member to the receiving space is smaller than an amount of exposure of the support member to the receiving space at the developed position; and

a spring member configured to urge the support member to the developed position,

wherein the case has a pair of attachment walls disposed on both side portions of the support opening and provided in a standing manner on an outer surface of the side wall,

each of the attachment walls has:

-   -   a spring attachment portion protruding from each of rear         surfaces of the facing attachment walls;     -   an upper stopper groove having a recessed shape and being         located at a level higher than a level of the spring attachment         portion; and     -   a lower stopper groove having a recessed shape and being located         at a level lower than a level of the spring attachment portion,

the spring member is formed of a double torsion spring in which two torsion springs each having a coil portion and two leg portions are juxtaposed, and one leg portions of the torsion springs are connected to each other by a connecting leg portion, each of the coil portions of the torsion springs being pivotally supported by the spring attachment portion,

the support member is held between the attachment walls and the spring member, and

the support member has:

-   -   a pair of upper stopper protrusions detachably latched in the         pair of upper stopper grooves; and     -   a pair of lower stopper protrusions detachably latched in the         pair of lower stopper grooves.

A container holder of the present invention is a container holder in which a support member has an improved degree of freedom of movement.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view schematically showing a container holder of an embodiment;

FIG. 2 is an explanatory view describing a movement of the container holder of the embodiment;

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view describing a movement of the container holder of the embodiment;

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view describing a movement of the container holder of the embodiment; and

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view describing a movement of the container holder of the embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A container holder of the present invention will be described below with reference to concrete examples. Hereinafter, as needed, a situation where an amount of exposure of a support member in a receiving space is maximum means that the “support member is at a developed position”. A situation where the support member is in a state except for the above state, i.e., a situation where an amount of exposure of the support member in the receiving space is not maximum means that the “support member is at a retracted position”. A state of the container holder in which the support member is disposed at the developed position means a “developed state of the container holder”, and a state of the container holder in which the support member is disposed at the retracted position means a “retracted state of the container holder”. The container holder can change its state between the developed state and the retracted state. The container holder of the embodiment can take specific retracted states of three types as will be described later, and change its state among the retracted states of the three types.

Description of Embodiments

A container holder of an embodiment is a drink holder which can be arranged to a console box of a vehicle. FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view schematically showing the container holder of the embodiment. FIGS. 2 to 5 are explanatory views schematically showing movements of the container holder of the embodiment. More specifically, in FIG. 2, the container holder of the embodiment is in a developed state, and receives and supports a small-diameter container. In FIG. 3, the container holder of the embodiment is in a first retracted state as will be described later. In FIG. 4, the container holder of the embodiment is in a second retracted state as will be described later. In FIG. 5, the container holder of the embodiment is in a third retracted state as will be described later. Hereinafter, up, down, left, right, front, and rear in the embodiment indicate up, down, left, right, front, and rear in FIG. 1, respectively.

As shown in FIG. 1, the container holder of the embodiment has a case 1, a support member 3, and a spring member 5.

The case 1 has a case main body 10 having a bottomed substantially-cylindrical shape, and three pairs of attachment walls 2 provided in a standing manner on an outer surface of a side wall 11 of the case main body 10. The case main body 10 has the side wall 11 vertically extending and forming a substantially-cylindrical shape, and a bottom wall 12 covering a lower end of the side wall 11 and having a substantially-planar shape. The case main body 10 has a receiving space 19 defined by the side wall 11 and the bottom wall 12. Three support openings 15 are provided on the side wall 11 of the case main body 10. Each of the support openings 15 has the form of a substantially-rectangular through-hole with a longitudinal direction thereof set along the vertical direction. The support openings 15 are spaced apart from each other and disposed at substantially equal intervals along the circumferential direction of the case main body 10. One pair of attachment walls 2 extending in the vertical direction is provided on both side portions of the support opening 15. The support opening 15, the pair of attachment walls 2, the single support member 3, and the single spring member 5 configure a support structure unit 8.

Although not shown, the container holder of the embodiment has the three support members 3 and the three spring members 5. The three support members 3 and the three spring members 5 configure the three support structure units 8 together with the three support openings 15 and the three pairs of attachment walls 2 which are shown in the figure. Of the support structure units 8, the support structure unit 8 located on the rearmost side in FIG. 1 is given as an example, and the support structure unit 8 will be described in detail.

The pair of attachment walls 2 is arranged on the peripheral portion of the support opening 15. The pair of attachment walls 2 has one pair of spring attachment portions 21, one pair of upper stopper grooves 22, and one pair of lower stopper grooves 23.

More specifically, on the left-side portion of the support opening 15, an attachment wall 2 a is provided in a standing manner. The attachment wall 2 a extends along the support opening 15 in the longitudinal direction, i.e., the vertical direction of the support opening 15, and protrudes from the outer peripheral surface of the side wall 11 toward the rear side. A columnar spring attachment portion 21 a protruding toward the left side is provided on the left wall surface of the attachment wall 2 a.

Of the wall surfaces of the attachment wall 2 a, the left wall surface of the attachment wall 2 a is a wall surface facing to the support opening 15 at its back side, and the spring attachment portion 21 a protrudes from the left wall surface in a direction of facing its back side to the support opening 15. In other words, the spring attachment portion 21 a protrudes from the left wall surface toward a direction being away from the support opening 15. The attachment wall 2 a is provided with an upper stopper groove 22 a and a lower stopper groove 23 a. The upper stopper groove 22 a is located above the spring attachment portion 21 a, and the lower stopper groove 23 a is located below a spring attachment portion 21 a. The upper stopper groove 22 a and the lower stopper groove 23 a are formed in the end surfaces of the attachment wall 2 a and have the form of a groove extending in a thickness direction of the attachment wall 2 a and opened rearward. A attachment wall 2 b similar to the attachment wall 2 a is formed on the right side portion of the support opening 15. The attachment wall 2 b, like the attachment wall 2 a, has a spring attachment portion 21 b, an upper stopper groove 22 b, and a lower stopper groove 23 b. The attachment wall 2 a and the attachment wall 2 b constitute one pair and are horizontally symmetrical. In other words, the attachment walls 2 a and 2 b extend in the vertical direction, and protrude outwardly in the radial direction of the case main body 10. The pair of spring attachment portions 21 a and 21 b is provided in a protruding manner on the rear surfaces of the facing attachment walls 2 a and 2 b.

The support member 3 has a support main body portion 30 with a substantially-triangular plate-like shape, and one pair of upper stopper protrusions 31 and one pair of lower stopper protrusions 32 which are integrally formed with the support main body portion 30. The support main body portion 30 has a top portion 35 directed front. Of the surfaces of the support main body portion 30, a surface facing the attachment wall 2 a, i.e., the left surface of the support main body portion 30 is called a support wall surface 30 a. Of the surfaces of the support main body portion 30, a surface facing the attachment wall 2 b, i.e., the right surface of the support main body portion 30 is called a support wall surface 30 b. The support wall surface 30 a is arranged with an upper stopper protrusion 31 a and a lower stopper protrusion 32 a. The upper stopper protrusion 31 a is arranged in a standing manner on the upper-side portion of the support wall surface 30 a, and the lower stopper protrusion 32 a is provided in a standing manner on the lower-side portion of the support wall surface 30 a. The upper stopper protrusion 31 a and the lower stopper protrusion 32 a protrude leftward, i.e., in a direction being away from the support wall surface 30 a. On the other hand, the support wall surface 30 b is arranged with an upper stopper protrusion 31 b and a lower stopper protrusion 32 b. The upper stopper protrusion 31 b is provided in a standing manner on the upper-side portion of the support wall surface 30 b, and the lower stopper protrusion 32 b is provided in a standing manner on the lower-side portion of the support wall surface 30 b. The upper stopper protrusion 31 b and the lower stopper protrusion 32 b protrude rightward, i.e., in a direction being away from the support wall surface 30 b. More specifically, the support member 3 has a horizontally symmetrical shape. The inside of the support main body portion 30 is hollow for the purpose of weight reduction.

The spring member 5 is formed of a double torsion spring obtained by connecting two torsion springs 50 a and 50 b to each other with a connecting leg portion 50 c. The torsion springs 50 a and 50 b have substantially identical shapes. Each of the torsion springs 50 a and 50 b has a coil portion 51 and two leg portions 52 and 53 extending from both ends of the coil portion 51. The torsion spring 50 a has one leg portion 52 a directed upward and other leg portion 53 a directed downward. The torsion spring 50 b has one leg portion 52 b directed upward and other leg portion 53 b directed downward. The two torsion springs 50 a and 50 b are symmetrically juxtaposed, and the upper ends of the upper leg portions 52 a and 52 b of the two torsion springs 50 a and 50 b are connected to each other with the connecting leg portion 50 c. The two coil portions 51 a and 51 b are substantially coaxially disposed, and the spring member 5 can be rotated about the coil portions 51 a and 51 b and can be elastically torsionally deformed.

Processes of attaching the spring member 5 and the support member 3 to the case 1 will be described below.

First, as shown in FIG. 1, an operator on duty makes the support member 3, which is disposed outside the case main body 10, faces the support opening 15, and inserts the support member 3, from a top portion 35 side thereof, into the support opening 15. The support member 3 is inserted at such a position that the upper stopper protrusions 31 a and 31 b are brought into contact with the upper stopper grooves 22 a and 22 b, respectively, and that the lower stopper protrusions 32 a and 32 b are brought into contact with the lower stopper grooves 23 a and 23 b, respectively. The operator, while fixing the support member 3 to the contact position with one hand, covers the outside of the support member 3 with the spring member 5 with the other hand. At this time, the upper leg portions 52 a and 52 b of the spring member 5 are fitted to the upper stopper protrusions 31 a and 31 b, and the lower leg portions 53 a and 53 b are fitted to the lower stopper protrusions 32 a and 32 b. In this state, while the spring member 5 is elastically deformed, the coil portions 51 a and 51 b of the spring member 5 are attached to the spring attachment portions 21 a and 21 b, respectively. When the operator release her/his hand, the spring member 5 is naturally returned to its original state. With this urging force, the spring member 5 urges the support member 3 toward the support opening 15, and the support member 3 is held between the spring member 5 and the attachment wall 2 (more specifically, the upper stopper groove 22 and the lower stopper groove 23 of the attachment wall 2). In this manner, the spring member 5 and the support member 3 can be simply attached to the case 1 without requiring a jig or the like.

A movement of the container holder of the embodiment will be described below.

When no container is held in the receiving space 19, or when a container having a small diameter which is not enough to interfere with the support member 3 is held in the receiving space 19, the container holder is in the developed state shown in FIG. 2. At this time, the top portion 35 of the support main body portion 30 largely protrudes into the receiving space 19 through the support opening 15, and the support member 3 is disposed at the developed position at which an amount of exposure of the support member 3 is maximum in the receiving space 19. At the developed position, the upper stopper protrusions 31 of the support member 3 are latched in the upper stopper grooves 22, and the lower stopper protrusions 32 are latched in the lower stopper grooves 23.

When a large-diameter container is inserted into the receiving space 19, the large-diameter container presses the top portion 35 of the support main body portion 30 downward and outward. Thus, at this time, the support member 3 changes its position toward the outside of the receiving space 19 while moving downward against the urging force of the spring member 5. At this time, although the latching state between the lower stopper protrusions 32 and the lower stopper grooves 23 of the support member 3 is canceled, the latching state between the upper stopper protrusions 31 and the upper stopper grooves 22 of the support member 3 is still maintained. Thus, at this time, the support member 3 moves as if to rotate about the upper stopper protrusions 31, and is disposed at the first retracted position shown in FIG. 3. At this time, since urging force is still accumulated in the spring member 5, the support member 3 is urged with the urging force of the spring member 5 to the receiving space 19, i.e., the large-diameter container. Thus, at the first retracted position, the support member 3 supports the side surface of the large-diameter container. Thus, at this time, the large-diameter container is stably received and supported in the container holder.

When the container holder is in the first retracted state shown in FIG. 3 to receive and support the large-diameter container, the top portion 35 of the support main body portion 30 is dragged upward by the large-diameter container when the large-diameter container is removed from the receiving space 19. Thus, the support member 3 moves upward and is disposed at the second retracted position shown in FIG. 4. That is, the support member 3 changes its state from the first retracted state shown in FIG. 3 to the second retracted state shown in FIG. 4. At the beginning of the state change, as shown in FIG. 3, the latching state between the lower stopper protrusions 32 and the lower stopper grooves 23 of the support member 3 is canceled, and the latching state between the upper stopper protrusions 31 and the upper stopper grooves 22 of the support member 3 is still maintained. When the support member 3 further moves upward, while the latching state between the lower stopper protrusions 32 and the lower stopper grooves 23 is canceled, the latching state between the upper stopper protrusions 31 and the upper stopper grooves 22 is also canceled. When the state change further shifts, while the latching state between the upper stopper protrusions 31 and the upper stopper grooves 22 is still canceled, the lower stopper protrusions 32 and the lower stopper grooves 23 are latched. The support member 3 moves such that the support member 3 pivots on the lower stopper protrusions 32, and is disposed at the second retracted position.

Thereafter, when the large-diameter container moves to the outside of the receiving space 19, pressing force by the large-diameter container is eliminated. For this reason, the support member 3 is pressed toward the receiving space 19 by the urging force of the spring member 5, and disposed at the developed position shown in FIG. 2 again.

When the large-diameter container is further received and held in the receiving space 19, the support member 3 retracts by being further pressed to the outside of the receiving space 19, and is disposed at the third retracted position shown in FIG. 5. At the third retracted position, the latching state between the upper stopper protrusions 31 and the upper stopper grooves 22 is canceled, and the latching state between the lower stopper protrusions 32 and the lower stopper grooves 23 is canceled. In this manner, the support member 3 can be more freely moved without being regulated by the upper stopper protrusions 31, the lower stopper protrusions 32, the upper stopper grooves 22, and the lower stopper grooves 23. At this time, since the spring member 5 urges the support member 3 toward the developed position, the large-diameter container can be stably held. When the large-diameter container is removed from the receiving space 19, the support member 3 is disposed at the developed position again by the urging force of the spring member 5.

In this manner, the support member 3 can be inserted into and removed from the receiving space 19 through the support openings 15, and the support member 3 is urged by the spring member 5 toward the developed position. For this reason, the container holder of the embodiment can stably receive and hold the container regardless of the shape of the container.

Since the support member 3 can be freely changed in position with respect to the case 1, an operation of putting a container in the container holder of the embodiment can be easily performed, and an operation of removing the container from the container holder of the embodiment can be easily performed. That is, the support member 3 in the container holder of the embodiment can be only detachably latched to the case 1, and is not supported by the case 1. That is, the upper stopper protrusions 31 and the lower stopper protrusions 32 are only brought into press contact with the upper stopper grooves 22 and the lower stopper grooves 23, respectively, by the urging force of the spring member 5, and the upper stopper protrusions 31 and/or the lower stopper protrusions 32 are not pivotally supported by the case 1. Thus, the support member 3 can take various angles and positions with respect to the case 1. For this reason, for example, even if the case that the container has an uneven surface and the support member 3 is latched to the uneven surface, the support member 3 can be changed to a position at which the latching state can be canceled, and the latching state between the uneven surface and the support member 3 can be easily canceled.

The upper stopper protrusions 31, the lower stopper protrusions 32, the upper stopper grooves 22, and the lower stopper grooves 23 have not only a function of regulating the support member 3 such that the support member 3 is prevented from entering the receiving space 19 through the support opening 15, i.e., a function serving as a stopper for the support member 3, but also a function of regulating the movement of the support member 3 to some extent, i.e., a function serving as a guide for the support member 3. More specifically, as described above, when the support member 3 moves downward, the support member 3 moves such that the support member pivots on the latched portion between the upper stopper protrusions 31 and the upper stopper grooves 22. When the support member 3 moves upward, the support member 3 moves such that the support member 3 pivots on the latched portion between the lower stopper protrusions 32 and the lower stopper grooves 23. For this reason, the support member 3 stably moves.

Since an apparent pivoting center of the support member 3 is the pair of upper stopper protrusions 31 a and 31 b disposed symmetrically to each other and the pair of lower stopper protrusions 32 a and 32 b disposed symmetrically to each other, the support member 3 stably moves. In other words, the pair of upper stopper protrusions 31 a and 31 b disposed symmetrically to each other and the pair of lower stopper protrusions 32 a and 32 b disposed symmetrically to each other contribute to the stability of attitude of the support member 3 between the developed position and the retracted position.

Furthermore, as described above, an operation of attaching the spring member 5 and the support member 3 to the case 1 is more easily performed, and the container holder of the embodiment can be easily manufactured. This is because all of the upper stopper protrusions 31, the lower stopper protrusions 32, the upper stopper grooves 22, the lower stopper grooves 23, and the spring attachment portions 21 are disposed outside the support openings 15.

For example, when a container holder device has a rotational shaft bridged between the pair of attachment walls 2 a and 2 b, and when the support member 3 is pivotally supported by the rotational shaft, an operation of inserting the rotational shaft into the support member 3 and bridging the rotational shaft between the attachment walls 2 a and 2 b is required. Also when the spring attachment portion 21 configured to support the spring member 5 is bridged between the pair of attachment walls 2 a and 2 b, an operation of inserting the spring attachment portion 21 into the spring member 5 and bridging the spring attachment portion 21 inserted into the spring member 5 between the attachment walls 2 a and 2 b is required. These operations are cumbersome, and place a burden on the operator on duty.

In the container holder device of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 1, the upper stopper protrusions 31 a and 31 b and the lower stopper protrusions 32 a and 32 b are provided on the support member 3. The recessed upper stopper grooves 22 a and 22 b and the recessed lower stopper grooves 23 a and 23 b are provided on the attachment walls 2 a and 2 b, and the upper stopper protrusions 31 a and 31 b and the upper stopper grooves 22 a and 22 b are latched to each other outside the support opening 15. Furthermore, the lower stopper protrusions 32 a and 32 b and the lower stopper grooves 23 a and 23 b are latched to each other outside the support opening 15. In this manner, the various latched portions are disposed outside the support opening to make it possible to attach the support member 3 to the case 1 by one operation. Furthermore, the protruding spring attachment portions 21 a and 21 b are provided on the attachment wall 2, and the protruding directions of the spring attachment portions 21 a and 21 b are set to directions which do not interfere with the support opening 15 to make it possible to attach the spring member 5 to the outside of the support member 3 attached to the case 1 by one operation. Thus, according to the container holder of the present invention, the spring member 5 and the support member 3 can be attached to the case 1 by only two operations without the above cumbersome operation. That is, the container holder of the present invention can be easily manufactured.

Furthermore, the upper stopper protrusions 31 a and 31 b and the lower stopper protrusions 32 a and 32 b are provided in a standing manner on the support wall surfaces 30 a and 30 b of the support member 3 facing the rear surfaces of the attachment walls 2 a and 2 b, thus making it possible to make the structure of the support member 3 simple and to make the operation of attaching the support member 3 to the attachment walls 2 a and 2 b easier.

In the container holder of the present invention, also when the support member 3 retracts as shown in FIG. 5, the spring attachment portions 21 do not interfere with the support member 3. For this reason, the support member 3 can be largely retracted, and the degree of freedom of movement of the support member 3 is further improved. This is because the protruding spring attachment portions 21 a and 21 b are provided on the rear surfaces of the attachment walls 2 a and 2 b, respectively, and the protruding directions of the spring attachment portions 21 a and 21 b are set to directions in which the spring attachment portions 21 a and 21 b do not interfere with the support opening 15.

(Others)

The present invention is not limited to only the embodiment described above and shown in the drawings, and can be appropriately changed without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. The constituent elements described in the embodiment can be used by being arbitrarily extracted and combined to each other.

The application of the container holder of the present invention is not limited to a specific application, and the container holder can be provided on various devices, equipment, and the like. For example, the container holder may be provided, as an interior member for vehicle, on a console box, an instrument panel, or the like of a vehicle, or be provided, as an equipment member, on a seat for theater, various furniture, or furnishing goods. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A container holder comprising: a case having a receiving space opened upward, a side wall defining at least a part of the receiving space, and a support opening formed on the side wall; a support member configured to change a state thereof between a developed position where the support member is partially exposed to the receiving space through the support opening, and a retracted position in which an amount of exposure of the support member to the receiving space is smaller than an amount of exposure of the support member to the receiving space at the developed position; and a spring member configured to urge the support member to the developed position, wherein the case has a pair of attachment walls disposed on both side portions of the support opening and provided in a standing manner on an outer surface of the side wall, each of the attachment walls has: a spring attachment portion protruding from each of rear surfaces of the facing attachment walls; an upper stopper groove having a recessed shape and being located at a level higher than a level of the spring attachment portion; and a lower stopper groove having a recessed shape and being located at a level lower than a level of the spring attachment portion, the spring member is formed of a double torsion spring in which two torsion springs each having a coil portion and two leg portions are juxtaposed, and one leg portions of the torsion springs are connected to each other by a connecting leg portion, each of the coil portions of the torsion springs being pivotally supported by the spring attachment portion, the support member is held between the attachment walls and the spring member, and the support member has: a pair of upper stopper protrusions detachably latched in the pair of upper stopper grooves; and a pair of lower stopper protrusions detachably latched in the pair of lower stopper grooves.
 2. The container holder according to claim 1, wherein the support member has a pair of support wall surfaces facing the pair of attachment walls, respectively, and the upper stopper protrusions and the lower stopper protrusions are provided in a standing manner on the support wall surfaces, respectively. 